Posted on October 7, 2024
A similar operation that was conducted this past January facilitated the movement of 130,000 cubic yards of sand. The sand was dredged from the Mississippi River.
Now through December, The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the City of Wabasha will conduct an operation that has the goal of moving 2,000 cubic yards of sand per day.
A news release issued by the corps says the trucks will use Hwy. 61 and City of Wabasha streets to transport the dredged sand from the Wabasha Gravel Pit near Wabasha to a site about one mile away.
The trucks will run the route and carry the loads Monday through Friday during the daylight hours, the news release says.
Officials say the operation ensures the corps has space to place the roughly 250,000 cubic yards of sands dredged out of the river each year in the Wabasha area.
Dredging operations allow the river to be deep enough to facilitate commercial shipping operations up and down the Mississippi River during the navigation season, according to the corps.
The sand-moving operation is a result of an agreement reached between the city and the corps under the Water Resource Development Act of 1996. It was formally signed in July of 2023 signed by Wabasha Mayor Emily Durand and Col. Eric Swenson, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District.
